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June 21, 2011

Book Review: Ocean Pearl by J. C. Burke

At First Sight: It has been 5 months since surfing camp and Micki, Ace, Georgie and Kia are ready to become the Starfish Sisters once more, before Micki, Kia and Georgie leave for camp again, without Ace who didn't qualify for the try outs for the Junior Female Team.

But that's easier said than done, as each of the girls struggle with their own problems. Kia is learning to deal with her self destructive tendencies; Micki is conflicted about leaving her drug addict dad by himself and moving in with Kia and her family; Ace is so stressed and depressed that her hair is falling out and she's freaking about losing her sponsorship; and Georgie is tired of keeping secrets.

Then, Ace does something that puts the sisterhood in jeopardy, and things start to spiral out of control. And it only gets worse when Ace is called up to camp again, and the four friends are stuck together in the same cabin.

Second Glance: Ocean Pearl is the sequel to Starfish Sisters and in many ways I really liked getting the chance to hang out with these girls again, but I can't say I loved them so much this time around.

Micki and her insecurities and her struggle to rise above bitterness; and Kia and her struggle with self harm, her fight to keep level headed and get herself to the next minute - I loved both of them. I got to see different aspects of them in this book and I loved them all the more for what I learned about them.

Ace and Georgie were a bit of the problem this time around. Ace is so wrapped up in her image and her hair and, as Micki would say "if your biggest problem is your hair then you got it good". But she's so self absorbed and immature, which is weird because she is the oldest; and she willfully disregards other people's boundaries and problems. Georgie, well, I liked her at the beginning and in general I don't have anything against her, but she did break one of the cardinal rules of girlhood, and as a girl that's not something I can easily overlook.

Which brings us to Jules, Ace's boyfriend. I also can't make up my mind about him. I'm not sure if he's a player or a good guy who didn't handle things right. Much as Ace was a douche, and much as I saw Jules point, I'm still a bit iffy about what happens and how he handles things with Ace and Georgie.

Though, in the end, the girls pull it together, I wanted to smack them in the head more than once.

Bottom Line: Ocean Pearl wasn't my favorite, and in some ways I wish J.C. Burke would have stopped at Starfish Sisters; but there is another part of me that it's glad to be with these girls again. And I do appreciate the fact that this book shows how saying you're friends is easy, but that being friends is not.

Still recommend this book a lot, but Starfish Sisters is first in my heart.